Lindy, I have received several private, offlist requests for elucidations of the same sort you make.
I suggest that you read the descriptions of the ENQ and DEQ macros in z/OS MVS: Assembler Services Reference, Volume 1 (ABEND-HSPSERV), SA22-7606. Some of the computer science literature talks instead about serialization and semaphores (Dijkstra's term, a metaphoric hijacking of the European word for what Americans usually call 'traffic lights'). Also worth looking at are the discussions of the Test and Set (TS) instruction and its more powerful brethren, the most recent of which is Perform Locked Operation (PLO), in z/Architecture Principles of Operation, SA22-7832. These notions are important ones. What needs to be emphasized about them is that they all make use of a mixture of conventions and hardware help. If you and I and others agree to adhere to a set of such conventions, then we can safely share access to serially reusable resources. If not, not. John Gilmore, Ashland, MA 01721 - USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
